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Listening tour, lieutenant governor visit Fort Morgan

Funding issues among biggest local concerns

ByJENNI GRUBBS Times Staff Writer

Posted:
11/10/2011 05:26:40 PM MST

Colorado Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia reads "Llama Llama Red Pajama" to a group of first-graders in Holly Norris' class Monday at Pioneer Elementary School. Garcia visited the school as part of his statewide listening tour promoting and gathering ideas about dealing with problems in the state concerning early childhood literacy. Also pictured in back holding a stuffed Llama Llama is D.J. Close, who works for the Lieutenant Governor's Office.

When Colorado Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia visited Pioneer Elementary School in Fort Morgan on Monday, he knew that the primary concern on people's minds was likely to be education funding.

But Garcia wanted to hear more details about the programs, teachers, students, agencies and businesses in this area that are both working and in need of more support of all kinds.

"We're here to learn, we're here to raise community awareness and a sense of urgency" about early childhood literacy, he said.

Garcia and Christine Benero, the CEO of Mile High United Way in Denver, were the main speakers at a stop in Fort Morgan on a statewide listening tour aimed at finding out more about how Colorado schools approach and further early childhood literacy.

Fort Morgan children in Wendy Norris' first-grade class at Pioneer Elementary School listen as Colorado Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia reads them a story during his visit to the school on Monday. Garcia was in Fort Morgan to raise awareness and gather ideas for addressing early childhood literacy needs around the state.

"When Gov. (John) Hickenlooper and I came into office, we knew Colorado faced a lot of challenges," Garcia told the crowd of educators, agency workers, nonprofit leaders and parents amassed Monday morning in the Pioneer school library. "We knew that students who were not reading at grade level by third grade were six times more likely to drop out" by high school.

And while Garcia made a point of recognizing the roles that poverty and language barriers play in this dilemma, he also said that he knows that educators can't be expected to overcome all of those issues without support in the child's home.

"We need to remind and empower parents," he said. "They are the most important" factor in a child's life.

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Benero said she was "encouraged that the first group of people we met was a group of parents," which "says something about this community."

Garcia started things off by talking a little about why promoting early childhood literacy is something worth touring the state over.

He explained the vocabulary gap of as much as 30 million words between children raised in rich and poor households.

But Garcia wasn't in Fort Morgan to talk as much as he was here to listen.

Colorado Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia hands out copies of "Llama Llama Mad at Mama" to students in Wendy Norris' first-grade class at Pioneer Elementary School on Monday in Fort Morgan. The books were given to the students to "take home and share with family and friends," Garcia said.

"Community members and volunteers have joined the bus tour to learn from you," he said. "We want to continue the conversation with you. We're writing down everything that you say."

One thing they were especially interested in hearing about was how language barriers are overcome in Fort Morgan's diverse student population.

Fort Morgan School District Superintendent Greg Wagers told the lieutenant governor that while "every student comes ready to learn," there are challenges to that learning.

"They don't know English, haven't held a pencil before," he said of some students. "It creates a rich environment, but a challenging one."

Wagers said that for these students, the language barrier not only stresses them, but their families as well.

Fort Morgan School District Superintendent Greg Wagers, standing center, explains to Colorado Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia, second from left, and Mile High United Way CEO Christine Benero, left, some of the challenges his district faces concerning early childhood literacy. Garcia and Benero visited Fort Morgan on Monday as part of a listening tour to gather information and raise awareness about the importance of early childhood literacy.

Pioneer Principal Dr. Rena Frasco explained that one of the resources the school uses to break the language barriers is a local translator named Sharmarky Izak, who helps bridge the gap between Somali and English for both students and teachers.

Frasco said the parents need that kind of help, too, though.

"They really want to learn, to be able to read to their kids," she said.

Garcia agreed that the early childhood literacy conversation needed to include adult literacy, as well.

And one unidentified Somali refugee father said the same thing to Garcia, with Izak translating.

"We are very happy with the way you are teaching our kids," he said. "But there is one thing we need from you: We need helping speaking English.

Local translator Sharmarky Izak, standing at right, translates what the unidentified Somali immigrant father on his left has to say to Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia about educational opportunities for the children of East African refugees living in Fort Morgan. Izak contracts with the Fort Morgan School District for his translation services. The unidentified parent said, through Izak, that he and his fellow refugees are "very happy" with the way Fort Morgan schools are teaching their children, but the parents need English classes, as well. Garcia thanked him for his comments and said he was excited to see a father show up at the listening tour stop.

We're very thankful, but we need that help."

Garcia and Benero said they were both happy to see a father at the listening tour stop, speaking about his family's and his community's needs.

Sherman Early Childhood Center Principal Debra Lee also spoke, talking about the after-school program and other ways the school tries to involve parents.

Garcia asked if Lee's staff included multilingual teachers.

"Spanish -- yes," Lee said, but pointed out the dearth of Somali-speaking translators. But she said her school receives translation services through Izak, as well.

Wagers pointed out that the schools aren't the only ones needing Somali-to-English translators, as well as the other languages and dialects spoken by East African refugees living in Fort Morgan.

Mile High United Way CEO Christine Benero, left, speaks to the group of educators, parents, nonprofit leaders and others gathered Monday in the Pioneer Elementary School library for a stop in Fort Morgan on Colorado Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia's statewide listening tour concerning early childhood literacy. Benero said she was "encouraged that the first group of people we met was a group of parents," which "says something about this community."

"That's a particular need," he said. "Just as we need translators, so do the hospital, police, courts, etc."

Garcia asked about partnerships with the local library, which Green Acres Principal Linda Slothower spoke about at her school, including the Reading Buddies program.

The lieutenant governor also asked about what other programs or policies really work to promote literacy in the Fort Morgan School District, and Wagers said that one thing that has made a big difference is the move to all-day kindergarten.

"We started several years ago -- with no additional funding -- where the highest-risk students go to kindergarten the full day. Now, all students" have full-day kindergarten, he said. "We've had huge success with that."

He said that now with budget cuts, the district's dilemma is finding the resources to fund the full-day kindergarten program.

"It's so critical," Wagers said. "That's something we cannot lose."

Garcia also heard about a lack of enough full-time daycare providers, as well as too few affordable preschool options. And other area residents and nonprofit group representatives spoke about the programs and services they're offering -- or would like to offer if they had the funding.

Brush School District was also represented at the event, adding information specific to its schools, including needs for resources that would allow summer learning programs.

There were numerous other ideas, challenges and programs discussed during the listening tour stop, and Garcia thanked everyone who came and joined the "really complex conversation."

At the end of that conversation, Garcia moved on to Wendy Norris' first-grade classroom, where he read "Llama Llama Red Pajama" to the students, asking them questions as he read and engaging them.

After reading to the kids, he passed out copies of a second "Llama Llama" book that students got to keep, telling them to take them home and "share with family and friends."

Local reaction

Afterward, Jennifer Kral, the principal of Beaver Valley Elementary School in Brush, said she liked "the fact that they're seeking solutions for how they can support literacy from birth.

She also said she appreciated having an opportunity to "provide input."

Barb Wacker, the family partnerships manager at Fort Morgan Headstart, said she was happy that Garcia, Benero and the others "took the time to come to our community to hear our story."

Wagers was very pleased with the overall event, including the turnout and the level of the participation in the conversation.

"I thought it went great," he said. "I really appreciate the commitment demonstrated by the lieutenant governor and the people with him. I think the turnout from our local community showed our commitment to early childhood education within the constraints of our resources."

He said it also provided a "good opportunity to exchange ideas and opinions."

Lee said it was "marvelous to hear from state-level folks," and that she liked hearing the different perspectives from a wide variety of people, all sharing ideas and common goals.

"I think we know that other communities are facing the same things, but it's good to hear that," she said.

Garcia reaction

Garcia told The Fort Morgan Times that he enjoyed hearing from Morgan County folks about what is happening with literacy here, which is the point of his statewide listening tour. Fort Morgan was the 14th stop on a 20-stop tour.

"We want to really learn first-hand from the community what they're doing to address early literacy needs," he said. "We'll take that back to Denver, celebrate those ideas that work, replicate those and learn from what we heard on the road."

"We're hearing some common things: the importance of pre-K, the challenges of English language learners," he said.

"It was exciting to see the Somali men here, trying to help," Garcia said. "I think a lot of people have the idea that immigrants don't want to learn English. What we heard here is they want nothing more. They want to help their kids."

As for the recurring funding concerns echoed by nearly everyone at the Fort Morgan stop, Garcia told The Times that there would almost definitely be more cuts to school budgets next year. That's just the reality of balancing the budget: "There's not enough money for everything."

But he said he and Hickenlooper are trying to "raise awareness about the importance of providing the services all our children need to succeed.

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